1997 Auburn Tigers football team

The 1997 Auburn Tigers football team represented Auburn University in the 1997 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team, coached by Terry Bowden, finished with a 10–3 record and won the school's first SEC West Division championship, but lost by a point to Tennessee in the 1997 SEC Championship Game. The Tigers ended the season with a #11 ranking in the AP Poll and the Coaches' Poll after winning the Peach Bowl against Clemson on January 2.

1997 Auburn Tigers football
SEC Western Division co-champion Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl champion
SEC Championship Game, L 30–29 vs. Tennessee
Peach Bowl, W 21–17 vs. Clemson
Conference	Southeastern Conference
	Western Division
Ranking
Coaches	No. 11
AP	No. 11
1997 record	10–3 (6–2 SEC)
Head coach	Terry Bowden
Offensive coordinator	Rodney Allison
Defensive coordinator	Bill Oliver
Home stadium	Jordan–Hare Stadium (Capacity: 85,214)

1997 Southeastern Conference football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
Eastern Division
No. 7 Tennessee x$		7	–	1					11	–	2
No. 10 Georgia		6	–	2					10	–	2
No. 4 Florida		6	–	2					10	–	2
South Carolina		3	–	5					5	–	6
Kentucky		2	–	6					5	–	6
Vanderbilt		0	–	8					3	–	8
Western Division
No. 11 Auburn xy		6	–	2					10	–	3
No. 13 LSU x		6	–	2					9	–	3
No. 22 Ole Miss		4	–	4					8	–	4
Mississippi State		4	–	4					7	–	4
Alabama		2	–	6					4	–	7
Arkansas		2	–	6					4	–	7
Championship: Tennessee 30, Auburn 29
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 4	7:00 p.m.	at Virginia*	No. 18	Scott Stadium Charlottesville, Virginia	ESPN	W 28–17	45,300
September 13	11:30 a.m.	Ole Miss	No. 16	Jordan–Hare Stadium Auburn, Alabama (rivalry)	JPS	W 19–9	81,203
September 20	6:30 p.m.	at No. 10 LSU	No. 12	Tiger Stadium Baton Rouge, Louisiana (Tiger Bowl)	ESPN	W 31–28	80,538
September 27	6:00 p.m.	Central Florida*	No. 8	Jordan–Hare Stadium Auburn, Alabama	PPV	W 41–14	82,109
October 4	11:30 a.m.	at South Carolina	No. 8	Williams-Brice Stadium Columbia, South Carolina	JPS	W 23–6	79,411
October 11	1:00 p.m.	Louisiana Tech*	No. 8	Jordan–Hare Stadium Auburn, Alabama	PPV	W 49–13	84,761
October 18	2:30 p.m.	No. 7 Florida	No. 6	Jordan–Hare Stadium Auburn, Alabama (rivalry) (College GameDay)	CBS	L 10–24	85,214
October 25	5:00 p.m.	at Arkansas	No. 11	Razorback Stadium Fayetteville, Arkansas	ESPN2	W 26–21	41,277
November 1	1:00 p.m.	Mississippi State	No. 11	Jordan–Hare Stadium Auburn, Alabama		L 0–20	82,736
November 15	4:50 p.m.	at No. 7 Georgia	No. 16	Sanford Stadium Athens, Georgia (Deep South's Oldest Rivalry)	ESPN	W 45–34	86,117
November 22	6:30 p.m.	Alabama	No. 13	Jordan–Hare Stadium Auburn, Alabama (Iron Bowl)	ESPN	W 18–17	85,214
December 6	8:00 p.m.	vs. No. 3 Tennessee	No. 11	Georgia Dome Atlanta (rivalry) (SEC Championship Game)	ABC	L 29–30	74,896
January 2	2:00 p.m.	vs. Clemson*	No. 13	Georgia Dome Atlanta (rivalry) (Peach Bowl)	ESPN	W 21–17	71,212
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

References